1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for carrying out an examination of a wall of a body cavity, in particular a uterus, which device comprises a catheter, supply means for supplying a sterile fluid to the body cavity via an outflow opening of the catheter, a sealing element for sealing the body cavity against leakage of the sterile fluid from the body cavity, gripping means, operating means for operating the gripping means from a position outside the body cavity and transmission means for transmitting operating actions performed at the operating means to the gripping means, said transmission means extending through a further catheter via the sealing element.
2. Description of Related Art
Such a device is known from WO 99/52441, which discloses an apparatus for examination, excision and biopsy in a human body. The apparatus comprises a substantially tubular catheter and a biopsy device. The interior of the catheter accommodates a biopsy device comprising an associated biopsy catheter, being suitable for the passage of an intraluminal fluid through the catheter, which fluid can flow in via a fluid infusion opening. The catheter is substantially liquid-tight, except at the end thereof, so that fluid can flow through the catheter into the cavity to be examined via the end of the catheter. The biopsy device comprising the biopsy catheter is disposed in the interior of the catheter, being prevented from movement in radial or lateral direction within the catheter by the end of the catheter. Aspiration of tissue from the body cavity into the biopsy catheter is possible by operating a plunger and a piston extending within the biopsy catheter, which is surrounded by the catheter. The fluid can be supplied to the body cavity between the inner wall of the catheter and the outer wall of the further catheter.
A drawback of such a device, however, is the fact that the device is of complex construction. Consequently it is an object of the present invention to provide a device according to the preamble of claim 1, albeit a device of less complex construction. According to the present invention, this object is achieved in that said further catheter forms the catheter. Because of this aspect, a separate biopsy catheter is not needed, as the sterile fluid can be supplied to the body cavity via the biopsy catheter, so that a device of less complex construction than the known device can be used.
Furthermore, devices for introducing a fluid into a body cavity that is in communication with the environment, such as a uterus, are well-known in the medical world. In gynaecology, for example, hydro-sonography or “saline infused sonography” is a widely known examination method, wherein, in order to enable said sonography, a sterile fluid is injected into the uterus through a catheter for the purpose of stretching the wall of the uterus and obtaining a good sonographic contrast. This makes it possible to display deviations in shapes within the uterus. Said sonography may show that it is desirable to examine uteral wall tissue. This means that a follow-up examination is necessary, in which tissue is removed from the uteral wall, for example by aspirating tissue, which may be done by means of a microcurette. If the physician who carried out the sonography wants to carry out the follow-up examination directly thereafter, other instruments need to be introduced into the uterus through the vagina. This requires a great deal of dexterity on the part of the physician, however. In order to be able to carry out the two examinations in succession in an acceptable manner, at least two persons are required for successively removing and inserting the instruments. In addition, the examination is not very patient-friendly. That is why in many cases a new appointment is made for the follow-up examination in practice. Another drawback of the current method is that in many cases the physician does not decide whether a microcurettage is to be carried out until a transvaginal sonography has been carried out. This may lead to logistic problems, because the duration of the examination is uncertain because of this, so that the planning of appointments for the physician in question becomes unreliable. In addition, it is not clear in advance whether the presence of a second person for carrying out the examinations is necessary, so that also the further personnel planning becomes uncertain. In view of the existence of waiting lists, this is undesirable and possibly even irresponsible.